I think it depends entirely on one's motive for walking. I did the C2C last year and took 12 days. I saw the same people in the pubs each night and walking during the day, which would indicate that 12 days is a very common itinerary. Whilst I walk for peace and quiet and solitude, and of course to admire the scenery, I'm not averse to chatting with a fellow walker for a few minutes and I quite enjoyed the social aspect. I particularly enjoyed the fact that if I fancied a chat in the pub, there was always a familiar face. If I wanted to be left alone that was OK too. Using words or phrases like "mental strength, mindset and pushing the limits" implies that the motivation is to stretch and challenge oneself, (maybe to the point of discomfort?). I can fully understand that, having run long distance as a hobby when younger. Life would be dull if we were all the same, as they say

I'm new to all this but have been contemplating doing Offa's Dyke next summer some time with a couple of friends and wanted to pose a question..... One of these friends has thrown down the challenge to do the whole thing in just 3 days - he reckons if we aimed to do approx. 20 hrs per day of walking/running we should be able to do it, albeit with very little sleep! Is he mad? We are all relatively fit, in our late 20s and would obviously put in some fairly serious training but interesting to hear any points of view......

I guess that only you will know if you can walk/run 60 miles a day for 3 days. If you don't know I guess that the answer is that it is unlikely. Don't underestimate the number of stiles you will have to get over and the time to navigate especially in the dark/rain. Presumably, unless you have someone driving around with food/putting up tents etc, you will be camping as there won't be too many B&Bs that will want to see you. Think about it!

What you are proposing is in the arena of long distance trail running, where the ascents are walked and the descents are ran, with the flat areas done by a bit of both. Doable with a few years trainig, because it will take a few years of regular long runs and walks to build up any physical and mental stamina, never mind the amount needed for such an undertaking. I know it has been walked in 5 days on a number of occasions, which although a tall order, is within the capabilities of an experienced very fit fell/mountain walker.Dave.

This also reminds of when a mate and myself attempted the Lakeland Joss Naylor Challenge. This is an anytime challenge for the over 50's fell runners. It traverses 48 miles, over 30 high summits with some 18,000ft of ascents and descents, all to be done inside of 12 hours. We were fit as fiddles running 5 or 6 times a week and racing regularly. My pal said lets do it, although I had big reservations, as I knew the route and doubted out chances of success. Well he gave up after 23 miles and I had to abandon after 33 miles, when I strained tendons in my thigh. Sometimes the what the head and heart want to do the body simply cant.Dave.

Well Harland unlike you I get more amused than annoyed at this fast v slow and how many days certain posters claim to complete a walk on this message board.This is only my second posting,my first respose to someone seeking company on the SWCP and he didn't even have the good manners to reply.Maybe this time a little rattling of cages and a genuine respose to your enquiry might do the trick.Living very close to Offas Dyke I have completed it on many occasions in varying numbers of days and this detail is only important to me.So when I read of members bragging about "just over 5 days" and "it took me 6 days" I smiled and looked closer at their message.I am sorry but I only deal in whole numbers and "just over 5 days" is in fact taken him 6 days.But the most amusing is LL who took 5 whole days plus 2 half days but completed it in "6 days",NO you didn't you had an extra nights rest so that is 7 days on the trail.I think maybe next year we should do Offas Dyke on 8 cosecutive half days and then we could claim a 4 day PB.Really a few members should consider taking up fishing with their tall stories.Finally on a more serious contribution if you are really looking for company on LEJOG or JOGLE I am more than very interested.

I am still in the planning stage, which I do enjoy, looking at various routes but I'll let you know if it "all comes together"! There is obviously so much choice! I think that I prefer LEJoG rather than JoGLE.

Well Harland unlike you I get more amused than annoyed at this fast v slow and how many days certain posters claim to complete a walk on this message board.This is only my second posting,my first respose to someone seeking company on the SWCP and he didn't even have the good manners to reply.Maybe this time a little rattling of cages and a genuine respose to your enquiry might do the trick.Living very close to Offas Dyke I have completed it on many occasions in varying numbers of days and this detail is only important to me.So when I read of members bragging about "just over 5 days" and "it took me 6 days" I smiled and looked closer at their message.I am sorry but I only deal in whole numbers and "just over 5 days" is in fact taken him 6 days.But the most amusing is LL who took 5 whole days plus 2 half days but completed it in "6 days",NO you didn't you had an extra nights rest so that is 7 days on the trail.I think maybe next year we should do Offas Dyke on 8 cosecutive half days and then we could claim a 4 day PB.Really a few members should consider taking up fishing with their tall stories.Finally on a more serious contribution if you are really looking for company on LEJOG or JOGLE I am more than very interested.

Skirry, Although it might be ammusing, this "fast v slow" debate can also be useful, with its details of how many days different walkers spent, in helping potentail walkers decide how long to allow for the route. I fail to see how you can class as "bragging" anyone factually stating how many days they took on the Offa's Dyke Path, especially as I've not noticed any boasting in the posts of myself and others. My earlier comment was based on always having considered two halves to constitute a whole one, but if you wish to view my Offas Dyke walk as seven days rather than six that's fine, the number of days being of no consequence to me, the walk itself and being able to complete it in the allotted time being all that mattered. Starting and finishing at lunchtimes was a consequence of me living some distance from the Offas Dyke Path, my choice not to do it in six whole days being because the prospect of spending a night in Prestatyn beforehand would have put me off the whole idea of the walk. You express disappointment that someone "didn't even have the good manners to reply" to an earlier post of yours and you might find this happens again if you continue to make you comments as negative as in your latest post.